About the group

Many disease states are associated with low-grade chronic inflammation that may result in detectable changes in inflammatory proteins that can be measured in biological fluid such as serum and plasma, making them valuable biomarkers.

Measurement of these biomarkers may be therefore be useful for detecting diseases before they present and/or offer information on the mechanisms of disease, they may represent treatment targets or be helpful in evaluating treatment responses and predicting outcomes.

The group consists of scientist and post-docs and we focus on inflammatory markers in blood in disease where inflammation may contribute to disease progression, and represent interventional targets. The members have different backgrounds including biochemistry and molecular biology, specialized MDs, and epidimiologists.

Long term goals

  • Identify good cardiovascular risk markers who can identify patients with poor prognosis early or catch up with subpopulations that have a particularly good effect on treatment.
  • Understand the inflammatory contribution of psychosis states, do they reflect comorbidity or have a direct role
  • Increase understanding of various fat depoters and skeletal contributions to insulin resistance in pituitary and postpartum pregnancies.

Projects

  • Circulating risk markers in different cardiovascular cohort studies (PRAKSIS, CORONA, PLATO, RED-HF, HUNT, Tromsø undersøkelsen
  • The significance of Wnt and Nocth in heart failure and atherosclerosis with focus on soluble Wnt antagonists and Nocth ligands
  • The importance of inflammation of insulin resistance in patients with pituitary disorders
  • (akromegali, Cushing syndrom)
  • Inflammation and psychiatry, cooperation with TOP / Ullevål.
  • Notch and Wnt development systems in psychosis
  • Metabolic and cardiovascular risk following normal pregnancy (STORK)

Research activity in 2023

  • Samples collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in several published papers focusing on biomarkers associated with poor prognosis in hospitalized patients (in cooperation with other research groups a RIIM as well as national and international collaborators).
  • The project “Regulation of non-coding RNAs in preeclampsia and impact on future cardiovascular risk” with grants from the Norwegian Health Association was finalized. Two papers were published showing decreased anti-ferroptotic activity in maternal leukocytes in women developing preeclampsia that correlated with anti-inflammatory expression. In the extracellular vesicle project, we found platelet-derived and mitochondrial RNA were highly expressed in plasma extracellular vesicles and were decreased in extracellular vesicles isolated from women with preeclampsia. We found the non-coding RNA TUG1 and MT-TA in leukocytes as promising early prediction markers of preeclampsia.
  • Kjersti Oppen defended her PhD thesis “Iron-Related Biomarkers as Predictors of Etiology and Prognosis in Pneumonia” (Supervisor: Annika Michelsen).

Cooperation

Internal

  • Clinical immunology and infectious diseases (Fevangs group)
  • Genomics and Metagenomics in Inflammatory Disorders (Hov Group)
  • Immunological and Molecular Mechanisms in Myocardial Remodeling and Heart Failure (Ynestads group)
  • Inflammatory and Molecular Mechanisms in Atherosclerosis and Related Metabolic Disorders (Halvorsens group), Lars Gullestad

National

  • Psychosis Research Centre Thematically Organized Psychosis Research (TOP) group, John-Bjarne Hanse, UiT/TREC; Jan Kristian Damås NTNU

International

  • Errol Norwitz Tufts Medical Center; Kennth Caidahl Karolinska Institutt; Lars Wallentin Uppsala Clinical Research Center

Publications

  • Barratt-Due, Andreas; Pettersen, Kristin; Dahl, Tuva Børresdatter; Holter, Jan Cato; Grønli, Renathe Henriksen & Dyrhol-Riise, Anne Ma [Vis alle 20 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2024). Escalated complement activation during hospitalization is associated with higher risk of 60-day mortality in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. Journal of Internal Medicine. ISSN 0954-6820. doi: 10.1111/joim.13783.
  • Dingen, Håvard; Jordal, Stina; Bratt, Sorosh; Aukrust, Pål; Busund, Rolf; Jakobsen, Øyvind; Dalén, Magnus; Ueland, Thor; Svenarud, Peter; Haaverstad, Rune; Saeed, Sahrai; Risnes, Ivar. Clinical profile, microbiology and outcomes in infective endocarditis treated with aortic valve replacement: a multicenter case-control study. BMC Infectious Diseases 2024; Volum 24.(1)
  • Falch, Camilla Maria; Godang, Kristin; Lekva, Tove; Ueland, Thor; Heck, Ansgar; Bollerslev, Jens; Olarescu, Nicoleta Cristina. Long-term depot specific changes in adipose tissue after treatment of acromegaly. European Journal of Endocrinology (EJE) 2024; Volum 190.(3) s. K37-K42
  • Grannes, Helene; Sharma, Archana; Suntharalingam, Anita; Michelsen, Annika Elisabet; Aukrust, Pål; Ueland, Thor; Birkeland, Kåre Inge; Gregersen, Ida; Lee-Ødegård, Sindre; Halvorsen, Bente. Plasma soluble TIM-3 is increased in normoglycemic South Asian women compared to Nordic women after gestational diabetes mellitus and associated with markers of metaflammation. Heliyon 2024; Volum 10.(22)
  • Gregersen, Ida; Scarth, Morgan Elizabeth; Abdullah, Rang; Thorsby, Per Medbøe; Hauger, Lisa Evju; Haugaa, Kristina Ingrid Helena Hermann; Sagen, Ellen Lund; Michelsen, Annika Elisabet; Ueland, Thor; Edvardsen, Thor; Aukrust, Pål; Almaas, Vibeke Marie; Bjørnebekk, Astrid Kristine; Halvorsen, Bente.
    Elevated interleukin 8 and matrix metalloproteinase 9 levels are associated with myocardial pathology in users of anabolic-androgenic steroids. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (EJPC) 2024; Volum 31.(12) s. 1469-1476
  • Halvorsen, Bente; Viermyr, Hans-Kittil; Ueland, Thor; Sagen, Ellen Lund; Michelsen, Annika Elisabet; Bjerkeli, Vigdis; Tveita, Anders; Nezvalova-Henriksen, Katerina; Kåsine, Trine; Dyrhol-Riise, Anne Ma; Trøseid, Marius; Dahl, Tuva Børresdatter; Aukrust, Pål; Gregersen, Ida. IL-22 is increased in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and associates with cardiac involvement. Journal of Infection 2024; Volum 89.(1)
  • Murphy, Sarah Louise Mikalsen; Balzer, Nora Reka; Ranheim, Trine; Sagen, Ellen Lund; Huse, Camilla; Bjerkeli, Vigdis; Michelsen, Annika Elisabet; Finbråten, Ane-Kristine; Heggelund, Lars; Dyrhol-Riise, Anne Ma; Tveita, Anders; Holten, Aleksander Rygh; Trøseid, Marius; Ueland, Thor; Ulas, Thomas; Aukrust, Pål; Barratt-Due, Andreas; Halvorsen, Bente; Dahl, Tuva Børresdatter. Extracellular matrix remodelling pathway in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from severe COVID-19 patients: an explorative study. Frontiers in Immunology 2024; Volum 15.
  • Myhrer, Dina-Marie Munkelien; Frøystad, Monica; Paasche Roland, Marie Cecilie; Ueland, Thor; Lekva, Tove. The long non-coding RPPH1 is decreased in leukocytes and increased in plasma from women developing pre-eclampsia. Biology of Reproduction 2024; Volum 111.(2) s. 427-435.